Engraving machine



ENGRA'VING MACHINE Filed Dec; 225, 1952 Y Inventor;

Patented Jan. 1, 1935 "UNITED STATES nNGaavING MACHINE Otto Mackensen, Jena, Germany, 'assignor'to firm Carl Zelss, Jena, Germany Application December 29, 1932, Serial No. 349,318

In Germany January 2, 1932 I Claims- (01. 33- -18) 7 Ihave filed an application in Germany, January 2, 1932. I The invention concerns a machine for eng aving in a work piece'characters' cut into a guide I plate.

According to the invention, the characters cut into the guide plate areso designed that they form part of a continuous groove without angles, andmeans are providedfOr automatically raising the engraving tool from the work piece when the guide pin moves in that part of the continuous groove which does not represent any of the characters. 7 It is convenient to coordinate to the guide plate an auxiliary guide plate whose grooves, or guiding elements, represent only one ofthe said two parts of the continuous groove and which cooperates with a control membercoupled for equal movement to the guide pin, the purpose of the control member being to effect a change in the working and rest positions as soon as it'is caused to pass over the ends of the said guiding elements. To obtain reliable movements of the guiding rotation about parallel axes," on the one hand, the guide pin-moving in the grooveof theguide plate and. on the other hand, the bearing for a motor-driven roller which cooperates with a'guide surface and serves for automatically displacing the guide head according'to the directions of'the groove, that part of the guide pin which extends into the groove being boat-shaped and so coupled to the said bearing that the longitudinal axis of the said boat-shaped part is permanently at right angles to the driving axle of the roller;

The accompanying drawingrepresents a constructional example of that part of an engraving machine which "corresponds to the invention. Figure 1 shows the guide head of the engraving machine in a section through the axis of the guide pin. Figure 2 is a partial section through line 2-'-.2 in Figure 1. Figure 3 shows ina'side view the guide pin'and that part ofthis:pin which is boat-shaped and extends into the groove. Fig- .ure 4 represents the example of-a;continuous groove, and Figure 5 showsthe grooves in the appertaining auxiliary guide plate which cause the interruptions in the engraving process. InFigure l, the numeral 1 represents a-support to which are fixed, on theone hand, a. guide plate 2 with a groove 3 (of. Figure 4) and. on

16 on which a worm wheel worm 11 isrevolubly mounted by means of a shaft 1'7.

of the engraving tool member in the groove of the guide plate, espelongitudinal axis of the other hand, a guide plate 4. Into the groove 3 extends a guide pin 5 having a boat-shaped foot 6. a The guide pin 5 is so mounted in a bearing 7 as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis XX.' The bearing 7 is fixed which supports a motor 9 whose shaft 10 has at its lower end a worm 11. On the housing 8 is revolubly mounted a body 12 which is concentrical to the axis Y-Y of the shaft 10. Tothis body 12 is screwed a toothed wheel 13 which has 10 the same circular "pitchand number of teethas a toothed wheel 14 fixed to the guide pin 5. v The two toothed wheels 13 and 14 are in mesh with an intermediate wheel 15 revolubly mounted on thefhousing 8. To the body 12 is fixed a housing 15 18 meshing with the Through 'the agency of a "toothed wheel 19, the rotations of the shaft 1'7 are transmitted to a toothed wheel 20 which is fixed to a 2 0 shaft 21 and in mesh with a toothed wheel 22 of a shaft 23. The shaft 23 has a uide roller 24 resting on the guide plate 4. These parts are so arranged that the longitudinal axis 0! the boatshaped foot 6 of the guide pin 5 is at rightangles. 5 to the shaft 23 of the roller 24. The wheels 13, 14 and 15 provide that this-condition is maintained regardless of the directions the the boat-shaped foot 6 may assume. Thus, the guide pin may move freely without any disturbance, which is of importance especially in the case of characters similar to those shown in the drawing, inwhich the groove 3 has elements 3a that intersect eachother. In

its bearing 7, the guide pin 5'isdisplaceable in the direction of its axis of rotation X-X and may be raised from the groove 3 against the action of a spring 25 which presses, on the one hand, against the bearing? and, on the other handgagainst a collar 26 fast with'the pin 5. 40 By means of a bolt 27, the housing 8 is connected to an arm 28 assumed to belong to one of the usual pantograph systems, which may be so. cou-- pled to the support for the work piece to be engraved that it displaces this support according to the movement of the guide pin 5 in the groove 3 of the guide plate 2. Above this plate 2 is disposed an auxiliary guide plate 29 the grooves, 30' of which, (Figure 5) correspond to those parts of the groove 3 which so connect the diiferent characters to be engraved as to provide onecontinuous groove without angles. The auxiliary guide plate 29 is so positionedthat its groove elements and] those of the plate 2' which correspond to them are vertically above each other. 5

to ahousing 8 5 V A pin 32 fixed to an insulating body 31 cooperates with the auxiliary guide plate 29. The insulating body 31 is fixed to an arm 33 which is so mounted on the housing 8 as to be tiltable about a pin 34 The point 35 of the pin 32 protrudes so far from the insulating body 31 that, when it is opposite one of the groove elements 30, this insulating body 31 rests on the surface 36 of the auxiliary guide plate 29. The guide plate 29, the pin 32 and the engraving tool (which is not represented in the drawing) are assumed to be electrically connected in such a manner that the engraving tool is raised from the work piece at the moment when the pin 35 is out of touch with the surface 36 of the plate 29, the consequence being that only that part of the continuous groove 8 is transmitted to the work piece which represents the characters to be engraved.

I claim:

1. An engraving machine for displacing relatively to each other a work piece and an engraving tool according tothe characters to be engraved, comprising a principal guide plate with a groove, the characters to be engraved representing part of this groove, this groove being continuous and without angles, the other part of this groove interconnecting the said characters, a housing movablydisposed relatively to the said principal guide plate, a guide pin mounted on this housing, this guide pin extending into the said groove, electric contact means comprising two members, one member being fixed to the said principal guide plate and the other member being so mounted on the said housing as to be displaced accordingto the displacements of the said guide pin when the housing is moved relatively to the principal guide plate, these contact. means being coupled to the guide pin adapted to act on the tool for making the tool inefl'ective when the guide pin moves in the said other part of the oove.

2. An engraving machine for displacing relatively to each other a work piece and an engraving tool according to the characters to be engraved, comprising a principal guide plate with a groove, the characters to be engraved representing part of this groove, this groove being continuous and without angles, the other part of this groove interconnecting the said characters, a housingmovably disposed relatively to the said principal guide plate, a guide pin mounted on this housing, this guide pin extending into the said groove, an auxiliary guide plate fixed to the said principal guide plate and having grooves that correspond only to one of the said parts of the groove of the principal guide plate, a control member cooperating with theauxiliary guide plate, this control member being so mounted on the said housing as to be displaced accord ing to the displacements of the said guide pin.

when the housing is moved relatively to the principal guide plate, electric contact means comprising two members, one member beingconnected to the auxiliary guide plate and the other member-being connected to the said control member, these contact means being adapted to so act on the tool when this tool is at the ends of .the grooves of the auxiliary guide plate as to make the tool alternatively eflective and in-. effective. 3. An engraving machine for displacing relatively to each other a work piece and an engraving tool according to the characters to be engraved, comprising a support, a principal guide plate disposed on the support and provided with a groove, this groove being continuous and without angles, the other part of this groove interconnecting the said characters, an auxiliary guide plate disposed on the support and provided with one of the said two parts of the groove of the principal guide plate, a housing, a body revolubly mounted on this housing, a roller revolubly'mounted on this body, this roller resting against the support, means for driving the roller, these means being disposed in the housing, a guide pin revolubly mounted in the housing, a boat-shaped part fixed to the lower end of the guide pin and extending into the groove of the principal guide plate, means for so coupling the guide pin to the said body that the longitudinal axis of the said foot-shaped part is permanentlyv at right angles to the axis of the said roller, a control member mounted on the housing and cooperating with the auxiliary guide plate, an electrical contact means coupled to the control member, these contact means being adapted to act on the tool when this tool is at the ends of the grooves of the auxiliary guide plate, for making the tool alternatively efiective and ineffective.

4. An engraving machine for displacing rela-- tively to each other a work piece and an engraving tool according to the characters to be engraved, comprising a support, a principal guide plate disposed on the support and provided with a groove, this groove being continuous and without angles, the other part of this groove interconnecting the said characters, an auxiliary guide plate disposed on the support and provided with one of the said two parts of the groove of the principal guide plate, a. housing, a body revolubly mounted on this housing, a roller revolubly mounted on this body, this roller resting against the support, an electromotor disposed on the housing, means for coupling the electromotor to the roller, a guide pin revolubly mounted in the housing, a boat-shaped part fixed to the lower end of the guide pin and extending into the groove of the principal guide plate, means for so coupling the guide pin to the said body that the longitudinal, axis of the said footshaped part is permanently at right angles to the axis of the said roller, a control member mounted on the housing and cooperating with the auxiliary guide plate, and electrical contact means coupled to the control member, these contact means being adapted to act on the tool when this tool is atthe ends of the grooves 01 the auxiliary guide plate for making the toolalternatively effective and ineflective.

5. An engraving machinefor displacing relatively to each other a work piece and an enagainst the support, means for driving the roller,

these means being disposed in the housing, a guide pin revolubly mounted in the housing, a boat-shaped part fixed to the lower end of the guide pin and extending into the groove of the principal g'uide plate, a string of wheels so couplinz the: guide pin and the said body that the longitudinal axis of the said foot-shaped part is permanently at right angles to the axis of the said roller, a control member mounted on the 5 housing and cooperating with the auxiliary guide plate, and electrical contact means coupled to and inenective.

o'r'ro MAcKENsEN.

the control member, these contact meansbeing adapted to act 'on the tool when this tool is at the ends of the grooves of the auxiliary guide plate, for making the tool alternatively effective- 

